Women's Basketball Hosts Sacred Heart Sunday at 1 PM
11/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GAME NOTES | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | TICKETS
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (1-2) looks to move to 2-0 at Cross Insurance Center as they welcome Sacred Heart (2-0) to town for Sunday's 1 p.m. meeting. In Maine's last home outing it defeated LIU-Brooklyn 65-59 in overtime.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS
Maine looks to get back on the winning track after a stumble at UMass on Wednesday evening in which the Minutewomen defeated Maine 68-60. The Black Bears were led by Sigi Koizar and Mikaela Gustafsson who each tailled 12 points in the tough loss.
Maine's sophomore point guard Sigi Koizar has been stellar out of the gates as she leads the team in scoring, ranking fifth overall in the America East conference at 16.7 points per game. Koizar is chipping in a team-high 2.3 assists while shooting 48.4-percent from the floor and ranks 10th in the league in steals (1.7). Pre-season All-Conference selection Liz Wood is adding 11.0 points per game and recently had a seven-game double-figure scoring streak snapped at UMass. Wood is averaging 3.7 rebounds and ranks second in the league with 3.0 steals per game. Junior guard Sophie Weckstrom is adding 7.0 points and is tied for the league lead in free throw percentage as she is 6-for-6 on the young year.
As a team, the Black Bears are averaging 59.0 points over their opening three games while shooting 38.7-percent from the floor, 22.7-percent from 3-point range and 63.2-percent from the free throw line. Maine will need to cut down on its turnovers as it currently averages 23.0 per game but also take it away at a high rate, ranking second in the league with 10.0 steals and first in turnover margin at +2.67.
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
The Pioneers are off to a 2-0 start in head coach Jessica Mannetti's second season at the helm. In 2013-14, Sacred Heart finished 12-18 and 9-9 in NEC play. The Pioneers enter Sunday's contest with a high-powered offense as they are averaging 83.0 points per game, averaging 67.5 field goal attempts per game and a 43.7-percent mark from the floor. Sacred Heart, who shoots 37.5-percent from 3-point land, are also tough on the boards, averaging 45.0 rebounds per game, only turning the ball over 11.5 times and holding opponents to 60.5 points per game.
In the early going, the Pioneers are led by redshirt sophomore Hannah Kimmel who leads the team in points per game (15.5) and rebounds (8.5). Fellow sophomore Adaysha Williams is adding 14.0 points, 3.5 assists and is tied for the team-lead with 2.5 steals. The Pioneers floor general is senior Katie Shepard who enters averaging 7.5 assists and 7.0 points through two contests.
MAINE & SACRED HEART ALL-TIME SERIES
This will be the second meeting in history between Maine and Sacred Heart, and the second in as many years. The Black Bears dropped a tight 76-75 decision at Sacred Heart last season. In last season's contest, Maine had three scorers total double-figures led by Lauren Bodine's career-high 24 points. Bodine went 8-for-12 from the floor including a 6-for-9 showing from 3-point range. Anna Heise and Sigi Koizar each tallied 12 points, a career-high mark for Heise. Heise added 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
-U-M-
